A Dimension of Water Stars
by The Broken Mask
Summary: Acionna is a dimension with many parallels to the Magic Dimension but fuelled by the Water Stars. Galena is a fairy under pressure, Keeper of the Water Stars and engaged to her Kingdom's Crown Prince. When spiralling threats threaten not only her Kingdom but all magic in Acionna, she is forced to travel to another dimension and find a way to save her home.


Prologue

A tense air settled over a wide throne room, the few people gathered inside unable to bring themselves to look at each other in fear of what was coming next.  
Among them was a young man, not long an adult but never feeling like one. He could feel his mother's gaze from her throne high above him burning into the back of his head as he gazed hard at the door ahead, although he knew every single detail of that door just from having to wait like this. He knew his younger twin siblings were there beside him as well, but they at least were able to talk nervously between each other.  
The door opening did nothing to soothe the tension, only making it worse as the man who opened it spoke up.  
"Your Highnesses, I present Lady Boann Ceto and Miss Galene-Ira Ausrine."  
The young man's heart leapt into his throat as the two girls came into the room, roughly the same age but that was about all they had in common.  
First was Boann, his girlfriend and a young woman who hadn't even joined fairy school yet but had already made a name for herself in the royal court and the kingdom as the Keeper of the Water Stars - at least, that's what they thought. With her long, sandy blonde hair, tanned skin and bright blue eyes that made his heart flutter for the second they met his own electric blue ones, he had decided long ago that this was the girl he wanted to marry and to be his future Queen.  
The other girl was an ordinary resident of the planet, and it showed just in the way she carried herself. Her mud coloured hair wasn't done up neatly nor did her aqua coloured eyes hold a steady gaze as she approached the throne, looking around at everything. The young man could understand it a little he supposed, it was her first time in the palace and he grimly hoped that it was the last. He hoped that the sudden burst of watery power that came from this girl was nothing but a fluke.  
"Your Highness." Boann curtsied gracefully at the bottom of the incline to the throne, the other girl clearly doing her best to copy her but the skill just wasn't there. She looked like a deer in headlights.  
"Young ladies, I hope this investigation will be as quick and painless as possible." The Queen announced, her voice booming like a clap of thunder around the room, making the already skittish girl jump.  
"Of course, Your Highness." Boann replied.  
"Approach."  
The young man winced when both of the girls approached and his mother scowled.  
"Not you." The Queen glared down at Galene-Ira.  
The girl was clearly intimidated by the Queen's presence and stepped back to the place both of the girls had curtsied with no more than a quiet, panicked apology. He could _feel_ her nerves from where he was stood.  
However, that was not where his attention was. He watched Boann as she approached the Queen who was holding an orb he had never seen before, a clear, palm sized crystal ball, no bigger than any of the planet's ceremonial artefacts. The two met in the middle, not far from the young man who watched as his mother held the orb out towards her heart without saying a word. It took a moment, but the orb began to change shape and glow a faint blue, taking the shape of a water droplet.  
"Now you." The Queen commanded and Galene-Ira made her way up to her, not managing to hide her nerves as well as Boann did.  
The Queen repeated the routine, holding the orb over Galene-Ira's heart and waiting a moment. Not one breath was taken in the room as it began to change shape again, still keeping the watery-blue colour as expected but what happened next was not what the young man wanted at all. The orb shifted into the shape of a star. A water blue star.  
"Very well." The Queen withdrew the orb back into her own hands, the object morphing back into a clear crystal ball again. "The Water Star Seeker has shown the truth."  
"I-I..." Galene-Ira looked at her hands as if water was pouring from them as they spoke.  
"Your Highness, please accept my apologies, I truly thought-"  
"There is no need. We all thought the same thing." The Queen cut Boann's apology short before she could finish. "You will still attend Theia College as planned to become a full fairy. Water Stars or not, you are a powerful young woman."  
"Thank you, Your Highness." Boann seemed a little relieved to know that that part of her life wouldn't change, curtsying before the older woman.  
"You will also attend Theia College for White Magic when you turn sixteen." The Queen addressed Galene-Ira now, the young woman standing to attention when she was addressed like she was in the military. "As the Keeper of the Water Stars, it is vital that you do so in order to keep Thalassa and the Acionna Dimension as a whole safe from harm. When you graduate, you will marry my son, Crown Prince Freyr."  
Freyr and Galene-Ira made eye contact for a moment, her looking completely overwhelmed and he already felt a bubble of resentment rising in his chest.  
"Marklin!" The Queen called.  
"Yes, Your Highness?" The older man had been stood in the room by the Queen's throne the whole time, remaining a silent observer as always. There was no place in the palace free from his eyes as Freyr had found out more than once.  
"Prepare the announcement for the discovery of the Guardian of the Water Stars." The Queen commanded. "And for the announcement of a royal engagement."  
"As you wish, Your Highness." The man bowed low before making his way out of the room.  
"The celebrations will be tomorrow night." The Queen continued after sitting down on her throne, her face still poker straight. "Belisama, I trust you to prepare your future sister-in-law for the events."  
"Yes Mother!" Freyr's younger sister hooked her arm through Galene-Ira's, flashing her a big, girly smile and taking the now slightly less nervous girl out of the room at a very rapid pace. Understandably.  
"I wish to speak with Lady Ceto alone." The Queen added to her remaining children.  
"Yes Mother." Freyr and his younger brother spoke and bowed almost simultaneously, making their own rapid escape from the throne room and both letting out the breaths they didn't know they were holding as soon as they were out of her sight.  
"So, she seems nice." Freyr's younger brother spoke up after a moment.  
"Shut up, Tsovinar." Freyr snapped, his nerves clearly not as settled as he hoped as he stormed off to his room for an escape.

"I thought I might find you here."  
Freyr looked beside him from where he was leant on the balcony railing attached to his room, broken from his thoughts which became much lighter when Boann joined him, looking out over the Kingdom.  
"Where else would I be?" He chuckled. "It's peaceful here."  
"It is a lovely view up here." Boann agreed, leaning her head on Freyr's shoulder as the two gazed out at the wide meadows and scattered forests and lakes that made up the planet of Thalassa.  
"What did mum want to talk to you about?" He asked, leaning his head on top of hers.  
"Just reassuring me that she doesn't hold anything against me over the Water Stars mix up." Boann answered. "That I'm still more than welcome in court, that I'll still be going to Theia and that nothing has changed from yesterday."  
_"But it has changed."_ Freyr thought grimly.  
"I can feel you frowning." Boann pointed out gently, looking up at him with a kind smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Nothing has changed, I promise."  
"Can't marry you if I've got to marry her." He pointed out.  
"Apart from that, nothing has changed." She tried to reassure him, but the look of sadness in her eyes increased as well.  
"Boann, I want to marry you. More than anything." Freyr took her hands in his own and looked her dead in the eyes. "If I have to disinherit myself or leave this planet, then that's what I'll do. I don't care about my mum's obsession with getting the Water Stars into the royal family."  
"It's been your family's mission for as long as records go." Boann responded.  
"Then she can marry Tsov if it matters that much." Freyr huffed.  
"It's tradition. And it's what your mum wants." Boann responded.  
"I hate tradition. When I get into power you can be sure it'll be abolished." Freyr grumbled. He had no more power than Boann did over this situation as his mum had absolute power over the Kingdom, even as her son. He would certainly change many things.  
"Freyr..." Boann looked up at him with all the kindness in the dimension, not even a hint of malice or hatred in her eyes or voice.  
"I'll find a way to get this over turned. I promise, Boann." Freyr vowed to her. "I love you more than anything in the world."  
"I love you too, Freyr." Boann replied gently, resting her head against his collar bone.  
Freyr kissed the top of her head and held her in his arms for several moments, wondering just how he was going to get out of this mess.

The announcements were made that afternoon, not that Freyr paid much attention to it all, his mother giving a short speech to all the citizens of Thalassa that was wonderfully vague on the details as she always was, but at least he and his siblings didn't have to make an appearance this time. All he had to do was make it through the party that evening and then his mum would be off his back for a little while, or he hoped she would at least.  
All the same, he was going to play his part to deflect his mother's attention. The entire royal court was going into be in the ballroom that evening in celebration, as well as all the events going on in the city itself for the next week, so he still had Boann and plenty of other people to talk to that weren't his family.  
Unfortunately, he couldn't start the evening away from his mother as people arrived in the room and she began talking to the ambassador from the planet of Lugh and his wife. They had come without their sons, the oldest being his age and Freyr actually found both pleasant enough to talk to, so Freyr wasn't paying that much attention to the conversation and otherwise scanning the room. Until he was spoken to at least.  
"So, Freyr, what's your new fiancée like?" The ambassador's wife asked, clearly meaning no harm from the question but every defensive instinct in Freyr's body flared.  
"She seems nice enough. I haven't really spoken to her." Freyr was honest, although echoing his brother.  
"I'm sure you'll make her feel welcome tonight." Freyr's mother smiled a loaded smile at him.  
"Of course." Freyr responded, managing to keep his own smiling expression on even though he was screaming inside. "Now you mention it, I haven't seen her yet this evening. Has she arrived yet?"  
"No, not yet. You'll know when she has." The Queen replied, holding her expression as well.  
_"Greattttttt."_ Freyr thought, although his crackling expression made the older people laugh, even if his mother soon turned back to the Lughians.  
"I told Belisama to get her ready for tonight." The Queen continued. "It'll be her debut into the court after all."  
"She must be happy to have another girl her age in the palace." The ambassador commented with a chuckle. "Our oldest was delighted when his little brother was born."  
"Oh, there'll be a few years yet before she marries Freyr." The Queen chuckled. "I want her to graduate from Theia College first. Realise her status and powers as the Keeper of the Water Stars, just like my mother did when she married my father."  
_"Three years to figure out an escape plan then."_ Freyr caught himself before he spoke his thoughts aloud.  
"I wonder if she will be in the same year as our Nusku then." The ambassador's wife mused. "He's going to become a fay like his uncle, you know."  
Freyr was glad to hear that bit of news at least, already starting to work the young man into his own plans.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen." Marklin was announcing guests as they came in as always. "I present Princess Belisama of Thalassa and Miss Galene-Ira Ausrine."  
Freyr turned to look towards the grand staircase that lead into the room, as did most of the room as there was a lot of chatter while the two girls made their entrance, side by side as if they had known each other all their lives. Belisama was dressed in tiffany blue, her favourite colour, a cossetted top with off the shoulder straps, deep sweetheart neckline and a full, ballroom skirt made of thick, wide pleats that rippled like ocean waves as she moved as did her dirty blonde hair, half tied back and dotted with the same tiny crystals that covered the rest of her dress from bodice to skirt. Galene-Ira was dressed in a much more restrained way, her dress coloured in celeste blue, more A-line in shape but with a semi-transparent layer making a ballgown kind of silhouette, an illusion neckline made of a semi-sweetheart neckline and more of the semi-transparent material covering up to her collar bone and down to her wrists, her hair in a low, braided bun with small jewel flowers that dotted her bodice as well. Freyr could certainly see his sister's influence.  
"She looks wonderful." The ambassador's wife certainly seemed to approve at least, Freyr didn't dare look at his mother as he knew exactly what she'd say to him.  
Thankfully, both of the entering girls were soon swamped by Belisama and Tsovinar's friends in court, so he could hold off a little longer.

As the party wore on, Freyr kept to the sidelines with the occasional drink and staying among his own friends and Boann when she wasn't out dancing with other suitors, managing to keep a stiff upper lip over it all. That was until Boann was whisked away from him once again and he spotted his siblings among others on the floor too. His mother had returned to her throne, observing the events and as soon as she saw him stood alone, she was glaring down at him and gesturing vaguely to his side. He glanced in that direction, mostly to avoid his mother, and saw that Galene-Ira was approaching, rather calmly in fact. Getting the gist of his mother's message, he too approached her, meeting her in the middle and in the view of most of the room.  
"Prince Freyr." Galene-Ira greeted first, calm and poised, curtsying to him and he managed a small bow to her.  
"Galene-Ira." Freyr responded in turn, full of formality.  
"Call me Galena, that's what everyone else does." Galene-Ira responded with a smile. "Especially my sisters."  
"You have sisters?" Freyr asked, only partially out of curiosity.  
"I'm the oldest of nine daughters." Galena laughed fondly. "We're all pretty close in age, so no one really ever says anything about it. Makes it easy to get on with other girls."  
"You seem to be getting on with Belisama very well." Freyr commented.  
"Yes, she had this modified for me. It's lovely, isn't it?" Galena responded, swirling the skirts of her dress gently.  
Freyr had no response. He was being reminded very much of his sister when she was little. In an effort to regain face, he turned to grab a drink off a passing tray, but he saw his mother out of the corner of his eye and she was still watching him, although with less of a glare but he knew what she wanted.  
"Dance?" He asked, extending a hand to her.  
"... Sorry?" Galena looked at his hand hesitantly.  
"Do you want to dance?" He asked again, trying to keep his frustration down.  
"I can try." Galena responded, gently taking his hand. "This was never my thing. All this princess stuff was Valentine's dream. Still is."  
"One of your sisters?" Freyr questioned, fighting to ignore the many gazes that now landed upon them.  
"Yes. Next oldest, after me." Galena answered, clearly doing as well as he was for ignoring everyone around them as she was physically tense in his arms when they began to dance. "The first thing she asked me when she heard the news was when I was going to introduce her to Beli and Tsovinar."  
Freyr fought the urge to grimace when Galena called his sister by her nickname, but she still looked up at him with confusion.  
"Sorry, I'm not used to people being so fond of them so quickly." Freyr quickly made an excuse, but the two still fell into an awkward silence.  
"Are all royal parties like this?" Galena asked after several moments, almost making Freyr jump.  
"No. It's a special occasion." Freyr responded. "Because of your powers."  
"And our engagement." Galena added.  
"Indeed." Freyr commented.  
It was at that moment he caught a flash of Boann's teal dress out of the corner of his eye and the resentment began to bubble in his chest again. For just a split second, he saw a smiling Boann in a rather concerned Galena's place and as soon as he'd registered his mistake, all of his thoughts and feelings hit him at once and overwhelmed him.  
"Freyr, are you al-"  
"I'm sorry, Galene-Ira." Freyr managed to spin them back to the sidelines where he wasted no time in stepping away from her. "You're a lovely young woman but I'm in love with someone else and I cannot go through with this."  
"The blonde girl in the teal ballgown, right?" Galena replied. "I know that and I don't want to-"  
"I'm sorry, but I have to go." Freyr finally made his escape towards the balconies, not caring that he very visibly left Galena on her own.  
As soon as he made it out there, in a cool breeze overlooking the palace gardens that were filled as far as the eye could see with flowers from every known realm, Freyr's head was in his hands and his fingers running through his hair as he tried to collect his thoughts. He had denied what was going on for as long as he could and two words from her was all it took to break him down.  
"Freyr, just what are you doing?" His mother spoke up from behind him, quietly but very firmly, making the young man jump. He hadn't heard her approach.  
"Mother, I-I'm sorry, I-I can't marry that girl." Freyr stuttered out under his mother's intense glare.  
"And why not?"  
"She's not for me. Someone else is."  
"It's tradition." The Queen responded. "Do you think I married out of love? Only to be twice divorced down the line?"  
Freyr could only look blankly at his mother, for he had assumed she had.  
"My parents wanted me to marry your father first, said he was a powerful wizard and that despite white magic and black magic not mixing he had a stronger claim to producing Water Star descendants than anyone else." The Queen leant against the balcony beside him so she could lower her voice. "He of course turned out to be powerless, just like you. You're too young to remember the twins' father, a sorcerer who controlled the lakes, but also a dishonest man who tried to take my throne simply because I was a woman. Neither Tsovinar or Belisama received the Water Stars, or else this tradition could have skipped a generation. You will be King after me, after all."  
"But why does she have to be my Queen? Why not Boann?" Freyr's anger kept down this time.  
"The Water Stars were always meant to be in the royal family of Thalassa. The Great Whale laid himself to rest here and gave it to our ancestor." The Queen answered. "As much as I would like you to marry Boann, she is everything I want in a daughter-in-law and Queen of my realm, we must correct other people's mistakes and set things right."  
Freyr sighed and leant harder on the railing. It was going to be three very long years indeed.


End file.
